Two Ford Rangers Navigate New Type of Endurance Rock Crawl Race with Speed

Team Lovell Racing had two modified Ford Rangers ready to go for the first of its kind ROC Race at the RAM Off-Road Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

DIRTLOGIC Ranger negotiates XRRA course at RAM Off-Road Park

Brad and Natalie Lovell in FABTECH Ranger in ROC Race

The ROC Race was a two mile dirt track course of sandstone climbs, rocks and gap jumps. Each driver ran three timed laps starting in one minute intervals. The driver with the fastest combined time was declared the winner.

Big Boulders, sandstone climbs and gap jumps were all part of the two truck racing effort by Team Lovell

Brad Lovell’s day started well. He had the opportunity to pre-run the course twice with his co-driver and wife Natalie Lovell. The two had most of the turns and challenges committed to memory. Their FABTECH Ranger with K&N Engineering products was fast from the start.

“Our trial run through the dirt went off without any errors,” said Brad Lovell. “We went up boulders, down drops and flew across the finish line.” The couple posted a 7:29 run which was the fastest official lap time of the day.

“We never have to worry about our K&N air filters,” said Lovell. “There is a lot of silt and fine dust on these courses and K&N
keeps the debris out of our engines and prevents our sensors from clogging up. We need K&N air filters on these difficult courses.”

On their second run, luck ran out. A transmission gasket blew and Team Lovell was forced to throw in the towel. “It was disappointing,” he said. “But Natalie and I could still smile because we had a great time practicing for the race and competing together.”

It was now Roger Lovell's turn to test the limits of the No. 32 DIRTLOGIC Ranger with K&N Engineering products. Chris Richardson served as Roger Lovell’s co-driver and helped keep an eye on the vehicle while Roger focused on the course. Team Lovell posted a 10:11 lap time.

As the day progressed, Roger was looking at a podium finish with only a few runs remaining. The team fought overheating issues all day but the crew tweaked the truck and Roger was able to push it faster. Team Lovell’s efforts paid off with a fast time of 9:06 which was more than a minute faster than the first time.

“Unfortunately and for reasons we don’t know, the promoter decided to scrap the final round,” said Brad Lovell. “Roger ended the race in 6th place.”

“I wish I had another run to make up time,” said Roger Lovell. “Everything felt better and faster as the day progressed. Getting all the bugs worked out of the truck was really paying off.”

Team Lovell is currently in first place in the 2008 WE-Rock Series and hopes to once again claim the championship title at the final round in Donner, California on July 18 and 20.

K&N Engineering, Inc., with headquarters in Riverside, California, has been the world's leader in performance filter technology since 1969, serving the needs of the automotive, motorcycle, marine, industrial and military markets. K&N is heavily involved in nearly every form of motorsports from off-road and powersports to drag racing, stock cars and road racing. For more information about K&N Filters, please contact K&N Engineering, Inc., P.O. Box 1329, Riverside, CA 92502-1329, (800) 213-4182 for a dealer near you, (800) 858-3333 for technical service/questions, (951) 826-4001 Fax, e-mail tech@knfilters.com, or visit www.knfilters.com.